The Common Cranb.- 
-BIRDS. 
-Marcgrave’s Cariama, 
411 
walking. The two outer anterior toes are united at 
the base by a ver}' small membrane. The tail in these 
birds is usually very short, but the wings are broad 
and strong ; and in the true Cranes the tertiaries are 
greatly developed, forming elegant decomposed plumes, 
which hang gracefully over the hinder portion of the 
bird, and often give it a most elegant appearance. 
The head is frequently adorned with a crest. 
THE COMMON CRANE {Gi'us cinerea)—?ig. 127— is 
an inhabitant of Europe, Asia, and Africa, resorting to 
the warmer regions during the winter, and migrating 
to the northward in the spring. It is now a very rare 
and occasional visitor to this country, but in former 
times appears to have been much more abundant here, 
as it is frequently mentioned in old household books, 
and in the descriptions of great feasts. Curiously 
enough, it usually occurs here in severe winters. 
The Crane measures about four feet in length, and 
the general colour of its plumage is ash-gray. The 
sides of the head and neck are white, the wing-primaries 
are black, and the elongated and decomposed tertiaries, 
which were formerly much in request as ornaments for 
the head, are variegated and tipped with blue-black. 
The bird has a long and slender neck, and a long, 
straight, and pointed bill. In their migrations the 
Cranes, like the wild geese and swans, fly in a regular 
body, usually in the form of a wedge, but sometimes 
in a long extended line. They fly at a great height 
in the air, and, like the aquatic birds above alluded to. 
frequently emit their loud and trumpet-like cry, which 
may be distinctly heard even when the birds are at 
a great elevation. The trachea, as in the wild swan, 
is much convoluted, and a great portion of it lies in 
a cavity of the sternum. 
The favourite haunts of the Crane are marshy 
districts, where it finds in abundance the worms, mol- 
lusca, and frogs, which constitute a great part of its 
nourishment. It does not, however, confine itself to 
this diet, but feeds freely on grain and the leaves of 
aquatic plants. Its nest is generally placed 
amongst the thick reeds, osiers, or luxuriant 
herbage in the marshes which it frequents, 
but occasionally upon the top of a ruined 
building. The female lays only two eggs. 
THE DEMOISELLE CRANE {Anthropdides 
Virgo) has a tuft of elongated feathers on each 
side of the head, and numerous long slender 
plumes depending from the base of the neck. 
The wing-coverts are very long and pointed. 
This elegant bird is an inhabitant of Northern 
Africa and South-western Asia, and also 
occurs, although but sparingly, in Southern 
Europe. It measures about three feet four 
inches in length, and is of a bluish-ash colour, 
with the greater part of the head and the neck 
black. It is frequently called the Numidian 
Crane, from its African habitat. 
THE CROWNED DEMOISELLE {Balearica 
patonina) — fig. 128 — is another beautiful 
species, resembling the preceding in general 
form, but at once distinguishable from it b}'^ the 
presence of a large spreading tuft of still’ red- 
dish-brown fibres, which springs from the back 
of the head. The sides of the head are naked 
and red, and there is a kind of wattle on 
each side of the throat. This graceful bird is 
an inhabitant of many parts of Africa, and also 
extends its range to the Mediterranean islands 
and the south of Europe. With the preceding 
species it is frequently seen in aviaries. 
MARCGRAVE’S CARIAMA {Cariama cris- 
toto)— Plate 23, fig. 91. Besides the preceding 
and several other species of true Cranes, 
most of which are found in the Eastern hemisphere, 
this family includes some singular American birds, 
to which the name of Trumpeters is often given. 
These birds have a shorter and more arched bill 
than the true Cranes, and their tertiary feathers are 
not elongated or decomposed. Of these, the species 
known as the Cariama is a large bird about thirty or 
thirty-two inches in length, of a reddish-gray colour, 
very finely mottled with brown. The head is adorned 
with a tuft of straight, decomposed plumes, and the 
rather long and ample tail is crossed near the tip 
by a broad black band. The wingfe are short, and 
the bird possesses but little power of flight; but its long 
legs enable it to run with great speed upon the elevated 
plateaux of South America where it dwells. It haunts 
the margins of woods and forests, and feeds upon 
worms, insects, lizards, and small snakes. The Cariama 
is a wild and shy bird. Its voice is very loud and 
strong. 
